Big Al's thoughts on the Sooner Spring game

Some observations following OU's Spring game:

Trey Metoyer can catch any pass thrown to him.

Blake Bell is much better as an overall QB than he was a year ago.

Too early to tell if Mike Stoops has made a big difference with the defense, although there were positive signs.

OU wide receivers had several drops, again, none of those off the hands of Metoyer.

Kenny Stills had a miserable afternoon and Jaz Reynolds dropped an 80-yard touchdown pass from Drew Allen.

We heard the excuses.. windy day, four different quarterbacks. Didn't seem to bother Metoyer.

This guy is big, with bigger hands. Glove size must be off the charts. He ran crisp routes, made some really tough catches and seemed well in tune with any of the QBs on display. Great catch from Blake Bell in the early going. Showed really good footwork on other runs after catches.

Bob Stoops said after the practice Metoyer is not an ordinary freshman. I couldn't agree more.

Not only did Metoyer look good on the field, he sounded good in the post game. Talked as if he is a student of the game. Wants to learn. Not too high on himself. That is good stuff.. By the way, he wears No. 17.

Now for the backup QB race. Granted, Landry Jones is the obvious starter, but remember how we were thinking two weeks ago if Jones goes down, Drew Allen would be the immediate replacement.

Hold on a minute.

Bell has to enter the conversation -- he showed he is more than the Bell-dozer.

He showed poise in the pocket ... and when forced from it he was accurate with his throws. Had a nice pass rolling to his right to Jaz Reynolds, too.

What intrigued me the most about Bell was his recognition when pass catchers were not open. He didn't try to make something happen just for the sake of throwing the football.

Of the five incompletions on Saturday, three were throwaways.

I think he could be No. 2 by the time camp is done before the first game in El Paso.

As for an improvement on the defense: Too early to tell, although I thought as a whole they were closing on the football better.

Mike Stoops is trying to make it simpler. If simple gets the job done, Sooner fans will be pleased.